What's after (or "post") Ponga?

Closing a chapter doesn’t mean the end of a story.

Originally published to postPonga.com on June 7, 2023, updated for clarity in November 2023.

An inheritance of photos & the stories that weave us into a family

As a founding team, we are very proud of the innovations we introduced at Ponga. It was a software platform that introduced a unique way to add context and stories into images. Using AI-fueled facial organization, we created an intuitive way to organize a mess of digital photos that was optimized for scanned family history photos. Once names were put to faces, we added a contextual way to share and discuss the significance of what you see in a photo.

Though the software is now offline, we are especially proud of the committed community of followers we attracted, even with our limited budget and exposure. Like us, our members and their guests saw Ponga as a start on a storytelling journey. Ponga made it possible to tease out insights and share discoveries with friends and family across generations. Our community put a spotlight on this new, interactive way of engaging with stories.

I believe this appeal will only grow.

We have families too!

With the platform winding down, we needed an alternative to Ponga to capture our own family stories for not only our community — but also for ourselves. Every day, frail elders have stories to tell and creative children are inventing fantastical worlds. So, what to do?

Ponga started it: I’m keeping it going

I’ve circled back to the community that made this project so important to us—our Ponga members and guests. Even as we shutter the platform, I can keep the conversation going with a “post-Ponga” community. Though it isn’t a permanent name I’ve created a digital home at Projectkin.org (formerly postponga.com). Join our mailing list☝️, or events (on Eventbrite) and keep up with our doings.

Ponga Alternatives: While there’s no direct 1:1 competitor to Ponga, many of the features can be found in other products and now we can explore the best strategies to weave a solution together.

When we shared the wind-down plan with our community, we included a series of tips that included efficient ways to capture the content in Ponga pictures. We also included a tip for using Canva’s whiteboards in a Ponga-like manner (now on Substack). This comparison of features and platforms with relevant functions will form the basis for future programming for our community.

Special live events: With our Ponga events, we’d created a routine for special events and I couldn’t bear to lose the momentum. We’re starting with our wonderful Kathy’s Corner series of workshops. Since they focused on the fundamental challenge of digitizing a personal collection — the lessons apply regardless of the platform. Kathy Stone has been gracious enough to keep these going under the new auspices of our yet-to-be-named “post-Ponga” community. (Note: this was before the name was finalized as Projectkin.org.)

Given the need to explore alternatives to Ponga, I wanted to start a new series of workshops to explore the challenge of weaving together applications as a Ponga alternative. I analyze product options on the market today on my own and will build on these for a series of workshops. If you have a specific interest—or expertise—in any of these categories, reach out and let me know. I’d love to have you join me in the workshop.

Feature comparison across various platforms to Ponga.

Join our Projectkin.org community. In this post-Ponga world, it doesn’t matter whether you ever had a Ponga account or not. If you’re interested in the future of digital storytelling and exploring the range of platforms on the market, join us, won’t you?